Cost of living comparison

Japan

compared to

Latvia

Latvia vs. Japan Cost of Living Summary

Latvia is 5.1% cheaper than Japan overall.

Restaurants: pay 63.3% more in Latvia
Groceries: pay 28.8% less in Latvia
Transportation: pay 3.6% more in Latvia
Housing: pay 20.0% less in Latvia
Childcare: pay 26.6% more in Latvia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.9% more in Latvia
Clothing: pay 37.2% more in Latvia

The cost of restaurants, clothing, childcare, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Latvia are more expensive than in Japan. Expenses including groceries and housing are lower in Latvia.

Planning a move to Latvia? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Latvia vs. Japan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Latvia instead of Japan, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 63.3% more for restaurants

	Japan	Latvia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.75 ¥1,066	$11.94 €10.63	+77.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.10 ¥805	$8.15 €7.25	+59.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.13 ¥179	$1.51 €1.35	+33.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 ¥120	$1.14 €1.01	+50.1%
Average			+63.3%

Japan vs. Latvia - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.8% less for groceries

	Japan	Latvia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.53 ¥241	$1.29 €1.15	-15.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.55 ¥877	$5.22 €4.65	-5.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.56 ¥879	$4.36 €3.88	-21.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.01 ¥318	$3.19 €2.84	+58.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.85 ¥450	$3.48 €3.09	+22.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.16 ¥342	$0.85 €0.76	-60.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.08 ¥171	$0.80 €0.71	-25.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.54 ¥243	$1.09 €0.97	-29.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.92 ¥303	$1.31 €1.16	-31.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.10 ¥174	$0.39 €0.35	-64.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 ¥170	$0.42 €0.37	-61.1%
Average			-28.8%

Japan vs. Latvia - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.6% more for transportation

	Japan	Latvia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.11 ¥649	$7.10 €6.32	+72.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$63.20 ¥9,986	$38.26 €34.05	-39.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,047.50 ¥3M	$26,434.34 €23,527.52	+25.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.65 ¥3,895	$9.18 €8.17	-62.7%
Average			+3.6%

Japan vs. Latvia - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 20.0% less for housing

	Japan	Latvia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$33.54 ¥5,300	$17.53 €15.60	-47.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$546.58 ¥86,367	$356.67 €317.45	-34.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$360.78 ¥57,008	$264.56 €235.47	-26.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$113.26 ¥17,897	$227.24 €202.25	+100.6%
Average			-20.0%

Japan vs. Latvia - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.6% more for childcare

	Japan	Latvia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$417.01 ¥65,893	$488.72 €434.98	+17.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,300.14 ¥2M	$15,452.35 €13,753.15	+36.7%
Average			+26.6%

Japan vs. Latvia - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Japan	Latvia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.57 ¥406	$4.53 €4.03	+76.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.06 ¥483	$3.14 €2.79	+2.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.83 ¥605	$6.10 €5.43	+59.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$53.31 ¥8,424	$42.36 €37.70	-20.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.73 ¥1,853	$9.96 €8.87	-15.0%
Average			+6.9%

Japan vs. Latvia - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 37.2% more for clothing

	Japan	Latvia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.32 ¥7,320	$66.25 €58.97	+43.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.33 ¥4,950	$39.10 €34.80	+24.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.45 ¥9,394	$77.76 €69.21	+30.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.04 ¥12,805	$123.17 €109.63	+52.0%
Average			+37.2%

Japan vs. Latvia - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Japan vs. Latvia

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Latvia?

Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Be 2.7 times more likely to be unemployed in Latvia

Size Comparison · See true size

Japan is about 6 times bigger than Latvia.

Moving from Japan to Latvia · OECD 2021

8 people moved from Japan to Latvia.

City Size Comparison · See true size

Compare the size of Tokyo vs Riga

More cost comparisons

Japan vs.

Australia

Japan vs.

United Kingdom

Japan vs.

South Korea

Japan vs.

Canada

Japan vs.

California

Japan vs.

Taiwan

Japan vs.

India

Japan vs.

Singapore

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Tokyo vs. Riga

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Japan

Add prices for Latvia

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Latvia or Japan. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.